The Tamils can be defined as people, having Tamil as their mother tongue.
Tamil language is a member of the Dravidian/ South Indian family of languages. The four
southernmost states of India- tamiz Nadu, kERaLa, karNAdaka, and Andra Pradesh- are
predominantly linguistically Dravidian, each state carved out on the basis of predominance
of the four major Dravidian languages. The Dravidian languages are mother tongues of about
a quarter of the Indian population. Though about 80% of the speakers are found within the
borders of these four South Indian states, a number of Dravidian languages have been
identified in other parts of South Asia.

Among the tribal languages of Central India, almost extending to the
borders of Bengal, distinct from the Austro-Asiatic family of languages, many Dravidian
languages have been identified. The northern reaches of this family have been located in
isolated settlements in Nepal and Pakistan. The Brahui speakers are found in the hills of
Baluchistan, almost on the borders of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. So, the Dravidian
family of languages is a South Asian family of languages in one sense. About 22 languages
are classified as belonging to the Dravidian family and on linguisic criteria,
sub-division as North, Central and South Dravidian are made. Tamils alone number about
70 million people.

South India and Sri Lanka have been homelands of the Tamils, from the
beginning of recorded history. The region, roughly covered by the modern states of tamiz
NAdu and Kerala are identified as ancient tamizakam up to about 10th century AD. Even
though some evidence exists for Tamil influence, and Tamil presence in Sri Lanka from very
early times, strong Tamil presence and influence in Sri Lanka, is noticeable from about
the 10th century.

Due to the recent civil war type situation in Sri Lanka, many thousands of
Tamils live in about 20 countries, with large numbers in
Canada, Germany,
France, and
Switzerland. Within the Nordic countries,
Norway and
Denmark have more Tamils than
Sweden.

Present Situation regarding religious affiliations of the Tamils.

Hinduism, Christianity and Islam are the major religions among the Tamils
in that order: Hindus are counted as forming more than 80% of the population and the other
religions are reckoned to be less than 20% of the population. Some of the other religions
like Jainism, Buddhism have relatively few adherents. The Tamil Christians include both
Roman Catholics as well as the Protestants. The Muslims are mainly Sunni. The situation is
fairly stable, only Christian missions, said to be marginally successful in making new
converts. The general atmosphere is religious toleration and harmony.

The official policy of India is secularism. Overall, Hinduism is neither a
missionary nor an exclusive religion. To put it in a negative way, the Hindus withdraw
into themselves and don't react except when they feel threatened. Many scholars have
commented on the tolerant attitude of the Hindus. Some recent developments in India
challenges this view. But tamiz Nadu and the Tamils, generally keep up the Tamil tradition
of tolerance, There is no Hindu extremism worth mentioning among the Tamils. No serious
claim is put forward that Hinduism should have special privileges, compared to other
religions.

The Dravidian Hypothesis about the people of the Indus valley
Civilization.

The Tamils have legends that their ancient history extends up to about ten
thousand years, sea swallowing up their lands twice and kings establishing new capitals
and fostering Tamil in three successive academies. The legend is first mentioned in the
commentary of kaLavijal, which is assigned to about 8th century AD. This legend is one of
the reasons - one of the excuses- for connecting up the Tamil civilization with some
prehistoric ancient civilizations, whose identity and continuity poses special problems.

The records of the Indus Valley Civilization have not been satisfactorily
deciphered. Material remains have been interpreted by archeologists. There cannot be
finality, till a satisfactory reading of the records. Material remains are generally
interpreted in the light of elements in the later Hinduism. Siva worship in the form of
pacupati and NadaRajA, Sakti worship and some other deductions are made. In the 1950s,
Father Heras argued for the Dravidian identity of the Indus Valley people. In the 1960s,
the Scandinavian Institute of Asian Studies issued many announcements, trying to establish
this identity. This hypothesis is still defended seriously by Japanese Professor Noboru
Karashima, President of the International Association for Tamil Research in 1994.

The Dravidian Identity of the Sumerians

This is another hypothesis that is strongly advocated by certain scholars.
The Sumerian records have been deciphered and material remains have been interpreted
satisfactorily. Linguistic and cultural affinities between the Sumerians and the Tamils,
separated by much more than a millennia, are pointed out. The late Professor A. catAcivam
(A.Sathasivam) from Sri Lanka and Dr. ulakaNAtan muttarAjan (Loganathan Muttarayan) from
Malaysia are examples. Eminent historians of the caliber of K.A. Nilakanda cAttiri
(Nilakantta Sastri), have pointed out similarities in temple worship. A hypothesis,
connecting the ancestors of the Dravidians, if not the Tamils. to the Mediterranean area,
is still advocated by certain scholars.

A study based on the historical times

Literary, epigraphical and archeological sources exist for the study of
religious traditions of the Tamils for about 2000 years. As materials exist for such a
long period of time, it is only fitting that we pay just passing attention to doubtful
prehistoric connections and concentrate on the historical period. Tamil is one of the two
classical languages of India, along with Sanskrit. There are Tamil literary texts and
Tamil inscriptions, dated roughly, round about the beginning of the Christian era. As in
most of ancient and medieval Indian texts, controversies exist on the exact dates of early
Tamil records and documents.

We have to be dependent on rough calculations and the most probable dates.
Some distinct historical periods: (1) 100 B.C to 300 A.D.; (2) 300 A.D. to 600 A.D.; (3)
600 A.D. to 1200 A.D.; (4) 1200 A.D. to 1800 A.D.; and (5) 1800 A.D. to today.

cangkam (Academy) period.

The general designation for the early period is cangkam period, because of
the strong tradition that three academies existed in the remote past and that what we get
as early literary texts were those approved by those academies. The main source for the
early period is literary evidence. From a study of the literary evidence, some scholars
argue that the Tamil society was secular then. It is only a relative term in the sense
that when compared to early North Indian literature and later Tamil literature, a
distinctiveness of relative secularism can be pointed out.

Some indigenous elements of religion, peculiar to the Tamils, have been
noticed in the earliest available stratum of Tamil literature. A portion of this early
Tamil poetry is identified as Heroic poetry. There were three Tamil Kingdoms - cEra, cOLa
and pAnhdija - and many independent chieftaincies in the early period and there were
intermittent and internecine wars and battles for violent state formation. maRam (valour)
was the celebrated theme.

Nadukal (planted stone).

The worship for the fallen brave warriors is one of the popular forms of
worship in early Tamil poetry. 'tolkAppijam' gives an elaborate description in six stages
in the planting of stone, beginning with looking for a suitable stone and ending in the
institution of formal worship. The portrait of the hero is often decorated with peacock
feathers. Some poems refer to spears and shields erected around the
planted stones.
Offering of Naravam (toddy = alcohol) to the spirit of the fallen hero, represented in the
planted stone, is mentioned in some verses.

veRijAdal (dance in ecstasy).

The dance in ecstasy is found mainly in the worship of murukan/muruku
(youth, beauty, god-head). He was the god of the hilly region. The name of god or
archetype was different in each landscape among the five different landscapes of the Tamil
land. 'mAjOn' (dark male)/ 'mAl' (great one) was the god of the forest or pastoral
landscape. 'koRRavy' (lady of victory) was the goddess of ferocious appearance for the
arid or waste land. 'vEl' (spear) was the main weapon of 'murukan.' He is a warrior-hero
par excellence, but is often mentioned in 'akam,' (love) poetry, the other main theme of
the earliest stratum of Tamil literature.

Love-sickness of young girls in separation from their lovers seem to be
generally interpreted as caused by 'murukan' who needs propitiation in worship. The
organizer and chief priest of the worship was 'vElan' (man with spear). A number of verses
refer to the sacrifice of the blood of ram and offering of toddy in the ritual. The
'veRijAdal' occurred in 'koRRavy' worship also, Later, 'murukan' was considered son of
'koRRavy.' A group dance of girls, known as 'kuravyjAdal,' is also associated with
'murukan' worship. Some elements of ecstasy were also involved in this dance. This dance
occurred in 'mAjOn' worship also.

murukan has continued to be very popular among the Tamils and he is
frequently hailed as the Tamil god. Kamil Zvelebil had chosen to name his first volume on
Tamil literature, as The smile of murukan. 5.1.3. cinyc cuRAvin kOdu (pregnant Shark
bone).

A solitary verse mentions this worship in the littoral region. On full
moon day, fishermen and families get drunk and worship. This may be the peculiar worship
of Nejtal,(littoral) landscape. 'kanhdu'(post, stone.)

This worship is often mentioned in connection with 'manRu' (public meeting
place). Lighting of lamps by women is specifically referred to in some verses. Floor of
the 'manRu' was smeared with cow-dung. Influence of North Indian religious traditions.

Jaina monks lived in hills around maturai, the capittal of the 'pAnhdijAs'
and in a few other places. Early Tamil Brahmi inscriptions of round about the beginning of
the Christian era, testify to this. Some kings and chieftains were responsive to Brahmins
and Vedic sacrifices.

Many instances can be quoted to show that beliefs in the existence of the
'ujir' (soul), 'maRu piRappu' (rebirth) and 'vAnOr ulaku' (world of celestial beings)
existed among the Tamils even in that early period.

Post cangkam Period 300 A.D. to 600 A.D.

Politically in this period, the Tamils were under foreign kalabhra
domination. Their political history is characterized by many historians as a dark period.
Buddhism and Jainism appear to have prospered during this period. Some notable literary
works are assigned to this period. The early Tamil 'kAppijangkaL,' (epics) are assigned to
this age, as for examples, 'cilappatikAram,' a Jaina epic and 'manhimEkaly,' a Buddhist
epic. 'aRam,' the equivalent of Sanskrit 'dharma', becomes the main theme of literary
works. Eleven didactic works were written in this period. Their main purpose seems to be
reformation of the society - bringing back values which were reversed during the Heroic
Age.

"tirukkuRaL" the most outstanding work in Tamil, belongs to this
period. This sets the tone of didactic works. According to Albert Schweitzer's evaluation
in his book, Indian Thoughts and its Development, ' tirukkuRaL' represents a
synthesis of much of the best in Indian thought up to that time with a positive approach
to life. The positive approach to life , also called life-affirmation, seems to owe its
influence to the literary traditions of the Academy period. 'varnAcirama dharma,' the
central concept of the Brahminical religion, prescribing different rules for the four-fold
castes and for the four stages of human life, has not even been mentioned in this work.
This work is of universal appeal.

The Tamil society never had the 'varnha' system. There was no
'cattiryjAs,' and the 'vycijAs.' The ruling kings and their ancestors, were sometimes
eulogized and flattered as the 'cattirijAs,' but there was no consequent development from
this position. The non-Brahmin high caste Tamils resented the term - 'cUttirAs,' the name
of the fourth caste. So, what we get in the Tamil works, equivalent to the Sanskrit
'dharmasastras, is 'sAmAnija dharma' applicable to every human being. Religious
affiliation of the author is not known.

'tiruvaLLuvar,' the author, has kept himself clear of external trappings
of different religions. The Hindus, the Jains, and the Buddhists have claimed this work as
their own. Many Christian missionaries and British administrators have praised this work,
even tracing Christian influence in the work. This work, consisting of 1330 verses, has
been translated into many languages. Other didactic works, follow the lead by
'tirukkuRaL.' The authors are identified as Jaina or Brahminical, mainly by their
invocation verses. Otherwise, there are no deep differences in the contents of these
works.

'NAladijAr,' the second most important work with 400 verses, ascribed to
Jaina authorship and with a noticeable slant to life-negation, had been translated into
English by G.U. Pope almost a century ago. 'tirukkuRaL' and 'NAladijAr' can be said to
constitute the ethical core of the religious traditions of the Tamils. It is important to
note here that 'varnAcirama dharma' had not been brought into Tamil literature. Though the
Tamils also developed an evil and pernicious caste system, in certain respects, quite
distinct from the 'varnha' system, in subsequent periods, that system had no sanction
either in Tamil or in Sanskrit texts.

Bhakti Period 600 A.D. to 1200 A. D.

The Tamils were under the Pallava and the 'pAnhdija' kingdoms during the
earlier half of this period and under the 'cOLa' Empire during the latter half of the
same. The Tamil power reached its zenith under the 'cOLa' Empire, which also ruled many
non- Tamil communities in South India and Sri Lanka. In the history of religion and
literature, this period is referred to as the
bhakti period.

Bhakti is a Sanskrit word, meaning devotion. This Sanskrit word and the
Tamilicised form 'patti' became popular quite late. The bhaktti poetry seems to be a
curious transformation of literary traditions of the Academy period. Both 'akam'
tradition, dealing with love between man and woman and 'puRam' tradition, dealing with
heroism and generosity of warriors are combined in a strange manner and the position of
man as well as hero goes to god, while the position of woman and hero-worshipper go to the
devotee.

A. ki. irAmanucan (A. K. Ramanujan) has recently brought out a good
translation into English of some of these early poems. Though the origins of the concept
of bhakti are traceable in Sanskrit sources, bhakti movement as such originated in the
Tamil land. Personal relationship between the devotee and the god was its main
characteristic, and worship became a fervent personal experience in response to divine
grace.

Religion for the devotees is no longer a matter of contemplation of a
transcendent, impersonal absolute, but of ecstatic response to an intensely personal
experience. This leads to a profound sense of the devotee's own shortcomings and to a
trustful recourse to the god's forgiveness, with the whole personality being surrendered
to the deity. It is this position which inspired the scholar - missionary G. U. Pope's
evaluation - which seems to be somewhat superficial - of this religion as the religion,
closest to Christianity, among Indian religions. Norman Cutler has worked on the poetics
of Tamil devotion.

The vedic religion - the Brahminical religion - becomes a popular religion
of the Tamils, through the bhakti movement. The Sanskrit sources contributed another
important element for this religion. This religion owes a massive debt to the Sanskrit
'purAnhAs' and epics. The temple rituals, prescribed in the Sanskrit 'AkamAs, became very
important. From the very beginning, sectarian differences are noticeable, may be because
of the influence of 'purAnhAs.

Saiva and Vaishnava movements were presented to the Tamil people as Tamil
religions This was made possible by religious synchronism. 'murukan becomes identified
with Skanda and 'kArttikEja' and related to Siva as a son, 'koRRavy' becomes identified
with 'umA,' Siva's consort and as 'murukan's mother, and 'mAjOn' becomes identified with
Vishnu. Saivism is the form of Hinduism, very popular among the Tamils.

The Saiva movement was relatively more involved in religious conflicts and
controversies. Saint Appar, a convert from Jainism to Saivism, converted the Pallava ruler
from Jainism to Saivism. His poetry seems to be a strange mixture of Jaina world-view and
Siva bhakti. Even though he expresses his regret for having wasted much of his life as a
Jaina monk, his poetry seems to be a form of synchronism between Jainism and Saivism.

The Jaina world-view and Jaina didactic works become acceptable to the
Saivites. Saint Campanthar, a younger contemporary of saint Appar, converted the pAnhdija
ruler from Jainism to Saivism.. He defeated the Buddhists in another controversy. As a
Brahmin, he was a champion of Vedic religion against the Jains and the Buddhists. There
are plenty of polemical references about the Jains and the Buddhists in his bhakti poetry.
Saint Manikkavasagar was also said to have defeated the Lankan Buddhists in a controversy,
but there is no trace of polemics in his compositions.

For about a millennium, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism were the three
important religions among the Tamils. The triangular contest for the loyalty of the Tamils
led to the growth of polemical literature to which adherents of all religions contributed.
The Buddhist contribution is seen in the manhimEkaly and the kunhdalakEci, the Jaina
contribution in the NIlakEci and the Saiva contribution in the civagnAnacittijAr. But
overall, conflicts are rare, especially after Hinduism consolidated its position. The
Saiva or Vaishnava rulers, were generally generous to all the Hindus, irrespective of
their personal inclinations and also patronized the Jaina and Buddhist religious
establishments of their subjects.

A very important text for Tamil Saivism is the
perija purAnham, the Saiva
hagiology of 63 NajanmAr, (saint lords), all of whom lived in South India and attained
heaven through their bhakti to Siva. This work influenced vIra Saivism of Karnataka.

Glenn Yocum has published a study of tiruvAcakam recently. The devotional
poems of Saint cuNtarar, numbering about a thousand verses, had been translated by David
Shulman recently. The Twelve Sacred Books of the Tamil Saivas were complete in the 12th
century A.D. For the vast majority of the Tamil Saivites, the basic works of their
religion are these Twelve Sacred Books. They don't look to any Sanskrit work for guidance.

The Vaishnava bhakti movement was dominated by
twelve AzvArs - those who
contemplate deeply on Vishnu. They were authors of
tivvijapirapaNtam (sacred composition)
of four thousand verses. Compared to the saiva devotional poems, the Vaishnava devotional
poems make greater use of akam tradition and less of puRam tradition of the classical
period. Friedhelm Hardy had brought out a fine publication recently on the history of this
movement. Some important saints are AnhdAL, kulacEkarar, tirumangky and NammAzvAr. The
works of the last one are very important and are sometimes referred to as Tamil Vedas.
Though less influential in Tamil land, the Vaishnavite bhakti movement exerted great
influence throughout India, during the later periods.

The temple worship seems to be a prominent feature from the beginning
of the bhakti movement. Temples, built of durable material, first rock-cut and then made
of stone, made their appearance from the 8th century. Huge stone temples were built by
the cOLa Emperors and their successors throughout tamizNAdu. The temples became the
centres, around which many aspects of life of the people were organized. Architects and
sculptors were needed in the construction activities.

Music,
dance, and
drama were patronized by the Hindu temples. These
temples were generally rich, having been owners of land other forms of wealthy. They
employed people and helped them in times of distress. The big temples are still great
pilgrim centres to which the Tamil Hindus from all over the world yearn to visit. Most of
the big temples in tamiz Nadu have myths of their own. David Shulman has made an
interpretation of these myths recently. The big temples are the main attraction for the
modern tourists in tamiz NAdu.

Age of Religious Philosophy. 1200-1800 AD.

The beginnings of philosophical speculations in India are traced to the
Upanishads, which originated in North India and which are in Sanskrit. Buddhism dominated
the philosophical field for many centuries and South India began to make significant
contributions. The definitely identifiable contribution from tamizNAdu can be said to
start from the 8th century A.D.

Many religious philosophical doctrines of South Indian origin have been
written in Sanskrit, may be because that language was the lingua-franca throughout the
South Asian sub-continent in that age. In the eighth century, Sanskrit the propounder of
Advita (monoism) hailed from Kerala, a part of ancient Tamil land. His Vedanta philosophy
assimilated much of the world-view of the Buddhists and gave it a new twist. He is said to
have toured throughout the sub-continent and engaged in debates with the Buddhists. What
he had taken over from Buddhism is said to have helped him to win over large number of
adherents of Buddhism which was already in decay in India at that time.

In the eleventh-twelfth centuries, Ramanuja, the propounder of
(Visistadvita-qalified monoism) hailed from the present 'tamizNAdu. He was strongly
influenced by the Vaishnava bhakti literature, based on the Puranic religion. He was
better received in Karnataka than in tamiz Nadu. Ramanuja wrote in Sanskrit, so his impact
among the Tamils is relatively limited. The history of Vaishnavism in tamizNAdu becomes a
little complicated as the later Vijayanagar Emperors and the Nayak kings who were mainly
Telugu origin gave it sustenance. They patronized Sanskrit and gave importance to Sanskrit
sources. Soon, there was a schism in tamizNAdu Vaishnavism into vadakaly, (northern
school) and tenkaly, (southern school) sects. The southern school, looks mainly to the
Tamil Vaishnava texts for inspiration.

The thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries saw the appearance of the
fourteen works of Saiva Siddhanta philosophy in Tamil.The basic Tamil work is
civagnanapOtam. There is still a big controversy on whether this work is a translation of
twelve aphorisms from an obscure or unattested portion of (Rauravagama).

Saiva Siddhanta is a South Indian religion, found among the Tamils
only. Besides the canonical fourteen works, there are subsidiary works and commentaries in
Tamil only. Agamas are accorded a special status while the Vedas only a general status as
basic works to the philosophy. The importance given to the Agamas makes South Indian
Saivism, a distinctive form of Hinduism, in some respects. The Tamils try to derive the
basic framework of the system from their own Twelve Sacred Books.

The development of many philosophical schools led to development of
sectarian conflicts and later attempts to patch them up, especially by mystic poets like
Saint tAjumAnavar in the 18th century and
Saint IrAmalingkar in the 19th century.
camaracam, (harmony) becomes the main theme. The former praises the clever cittar, (poets
of powers) who found harmony between Vedanta and Siddhanta. The latter founded cutta
camaraca canmArkka cangkam, a Society for Religious Wisdom of Pure Harmony.

Modern Period.

Islam and Christianity are important minority religions in this period.
Islam came to Tamils in two ways. Arab traders intermarried with local people and built up
a community, who now speak Tamil or Malayalam. Muslim invaders from the North had
temporary success in the South and their descendants speak Urdu. As in Vaishnavism, there
is some split in the attitude of the Muslims towards Tamil. Many of them are proud to
claim Tamil as their language and they have made substantial contributions to the
development of Tamil for more than six hundred years.

The Syrian Christian community, in the West coast, claims that they were
the descendants of native converts of the Apostle Saint Thomas, from the first century
A.D. They have preserved some copper plates, which according to them, were received by
Saint Thomas from native rulers of his time. Modern epigraphists have dated the these
plates in the ninth and the thirteenth centuries. It is now clear that this community is
enjoying certain privileges in Kerala at least from the 9th century.

Like the Christian trading community, a small Jewish trading community
also in the West coast, gained privileges from the native Hindu rulers in the 10th
century, as testified by a copper plate in the possession of their descendants. Roman
Catholicism was introduced by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Protestantism was
introduced by the Dutch in the 17th century. The British ruled over the entire Tamil
homeland for 11/2 centuries - roughly from 1800 to 1950. Westernization and Modernization
are going on, especially from the beginning of British rule and they are powerful forces
even now. Christian missionaries have been very active and have considerable success in
proselytisation. There was again Tamil polemical literature, reflecting a triangular
contest among the Hindus, the Roman Catholics and the Protestants, especially between 1850
and 1925.

As for Jainism and Buddhism, the former continues to flicker, while the
latter disappeared completely and has taken a new birth recently. Its rebirth is as a
religion of protest, as a religion of the down-trodden. The people who became
underprivileged and untouchable in the Hindu society felt that even Islam and Christianity
could not bring them salvation and chose to accept Buddhism, on the advice of the late Dr.
Ambedkar, their leader. Only a section of the underprivileged community called Dalits in
India became converts. Their problem of integration into the rest of the population cries
for solution.

The appeals to fundamentals of Brahminical Hinduism, as it is understood
in North India, do not seem to have its echo among Tamils, because of the character of
Hinduism in tamizNAdu. A few months ago, Prof. Saraswathy Vijayavenugopal, a folklorist
from Madurai University in South India, in a lecture in Uppsala, made the observation that
there seem to be many folk religions among the Hindu Tamils.

Synchronization - continuing synchronism of different religions - seems to
be a living process within what is called Hinduism among Tamils. The influence of
political Hinduism, exemplified by Bharatiya Janata Party and Vishva Hindu Parishad, which
champion Brahminical values, is negligible among Tamils.

The last half century in tamizNAdu is dominated by a powerful
socio-political Dravidian movement, against North Indian influences, including Sanskrit
and Hindi domination, but particularly Brahmin domination and oppression. among the Tamils
in South India. Though the movement is split into many political groups. of which two are
the two dominant political parties of tamizNAdu, there are still no indications that
parties which don't subscribe to the ideology of the Dravidian movement can make headway
in tamizNAdu.

A small Brahmin community at the top is very vulnerable. Christians,
Muslims, Buddhists and Jains find comfort in identifying themselves with the vast majority
of the Hindus in the Dravidian movement. A kind of secularism is fostered as the ideology
of the movement. tirukkuRaL is held up as the embodiment of Tamil Culture. The
classical
cangkam period literature is idealised as the literature of the Golden Age of the Tamils.